Saints' Curtis Johnson varies approach with players

MIAMI -- C.J. is vocal.

New Orleans Saints wide receivers coach Curtis Johnson is known for pushing his players relentlessly.

"He's a screamer, " New Orleans Saints receiver Robert Meachem said.

C.J. is a comic.

"We can mess up, run the wrong route in practice, and we'll tell him, 'We got it. We kind of messed up on this one, ' " Meachem said. "We get back in the film room, he already knows you messed up, but he'll get onto you again in front of everybody -- and make a joke out of it, have everybody laughing at you."

C.J. is among the nittiest of pickers to pick a nit.

"He's definitely on us all the time, " receiver Marques Colston said. "The thing with him is, he doesn't allow you to take anything off -- even the break periods. Everyone else is on a knee getting a drink, and we're over there catching footballs."

But Curtis Johnson -- a New Orleans-born, St. Charles High graduate who has been the wide receivers coach for the Saints since 2006 -- is a master at what he does, with his work highlighted along the way as the Saints prepare for the Indianapolis Colts in Super Bowl XLIV on Sunday in Miami.

The receivers he tutors are better after having worked with him. Each one he has come into contact with as a Saint, and the ones he tutored as receivers coach at the University of Miami, is better for having had the experience.

Colston, a seventh-round pick in 2006 who had as bad a rookie minicamp as could be imagined, has been a 1,000-yard receiver in three of his four seasons. Devery Henderson averaged 23.3, 20.5 and 24.8 yards per catch from 2006-08 before dipping to 15.8 yards per catch this season, but he caught a career-high 51 passes and became more of a complete threat.

And Meachem, a first-round pick and target of scorn that entered this season with 12 catches in his first two seasons, hauled in 45 passes for 722 yards and nine touchdowns during the regular season.

Sure, some of that's owed to maturity and improved work habits and self-evaluation -- and it's not like Saints receivers are void of talent.
The three mentioned all were draft picks (Henderson a second-rounder), and while New Orleans got lucky with Colston, there still had to be a reason for picking him.

And some is owed to the excellence of quarterback Drew Brees, who's on a run of efficiency that's unmatched in franchise history.
But some of their development can be attributed to Johnson's relentless pushing.

"He makes you 10 times better, " Meachem said. "Our receiver corps is like a family, and we don't want to let each other down. And with C.J., we really don't want to let him down."

Said Colston: "Even during break periods, we're doing something, still working. At first it irritates you at times, but you see the end result. He has made us so much better as players and as a group. The end result has made us that much better as players, and we appreciate it at the end of the day."

There's no better illustration of that than this: "He's taught me a lot, " Colts receiver Reggie Wayne said. "He's pretty much taught me everything I know, and I'll do my best to not let him down."

Johnson coached Wayne at Miami, where Wayne set a school record with 173 receptions.

These days, Wayne is a two-time All-Pro who is one of the most dangerous receivers in the league.

So it's no small thing when he, and receivers like Andre Johnson of the Houston Texans and Santana Moss of the Washington Redskins, give props to their mentor.

"That means a lot to me, " Johnson said. "Reggie was a young man I recruited. Very, very sharp guy and understands the game and understands his situation. I'm just very proud of him.

"All of those guys (from Miami), I'm proud of but especially him, doing what he's doing in the NFL. I never thought it would be that good for him, but he's worked his tail off. He's something special."

The same might be said of Johnson.

True, none of his Saints receivers have received a Pro Bowl invite while Brees finished second in the voting for MVP this season, had the second-highest single-season total for passing yards (5,069) last season and has led the NFL in passing yards since 2006.

But Colston has averaged 71 catches for 1,018 yards and eight touchdowns per season, Henderson and Meachem have become much more than decoys, and Lance Moore -- injured and in and out of the lineup for New Orleans this season -- caught 10 touchdowns last season.
Neither is the player he was before he met Johnson.

"I love my receiving corps, " Brees said. "As a group, they are the best in the league. When you talk about what each one of them brings to the field and to our offense, each one of them has some very unique strengths. They all work so well together.

"They understand that throughout the course of a game, 'Today might be my day. I might be able to catch 10 passes for 150 yards and two touchdowns. While other days I might only catch one pass, my role is still just as important because I'm creating opportunities for other guys. It might be another guy's big catch today.' "

They're ready because Johnson makes sure they're ready.

"I try not to let any stones go unturned, " Johnson said. "I just try to make sure, even the little things, I stay on it -- stay on them. I know I aggravate 'em a lot, and I know I'm on 'em a LOT.

"But the bottom line is if you're a professional, and you want to be professional. You want to put your product on the field every time. I just love seeing those guys perform, and I love seeing them play. But they do work hard, and they do respond. Sometimes, I'm a little bit unreasonable, but it's working out good for them."

Said Meachem: "C.J. knows we've got an opportunity to be great and be special. All he tries to do is get us to be special. As a receiver, you've got to have high standards for yourself. Your coach's goals can't be higher than yours.

"He asks you, 'What kind of player do you want to be when you leave this game?' If you say you want to be one of the best, then he's going to push you to be one of the best. A lot of times coaches see things in you that you really don't see in yourself at times, and he just pushes you to a level where you can only perform to be good."

He screams, he jokes, he picks the nits -- and the Saints are better for it.



(nola.com)